Silent Opera Interview

1- Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

We have signed a deal with the label Massacre Records and gave several concerts in France to present our new album. We also organized a release party on the Feb. 21st 2014, day our new record has been available! The show took place at home, in Bayonne at ‘Magnéto’ venue. We worked on our scenic presentation and on all visual aspects and concepts of our music. It was an incredible moment, with more than 200 guests, friends, artists, promoters.
Now, we are working hard on the new album's promotion.

2- Recently you have put out a new album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the new recording and also how does it differ from the EP you had released in 2010?

On this record, we wanted to produce more violent, powerful and emotional songs! We kept our progressive influences and asymmetric structures, with much more pieces of death metal and thrash metal! The challenge was to stay coherent throughout this full length album!!!

3- This is the first release that has been out in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what was going on during that time?

We went on tour during spring 2011 to promote our first EP ‘Act One’ and gave several gigs in clubs or festivals. Then, we started to work on ‘Reflections’ in April 2012 and we finished the recording sessions 4 month later.
Finally, mix and mastering made by our great Mobo (Conkrete Studio) were over on December 2012. The whole process spent 8 month!!!
We had to work on the artwork, on music videos, and above all we had to look for a label. We signed with MASSACRE RECORDS during spring 2013 and had to wait to be included in their promotional plan!!
It's been long but we are so glad and proud to release this album on a real & great label!

4- What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores
with the new release?

Every song on ‘Reflections’ explores psychological themes, talks about introspection. Each song narrates cases of bipolarity, maybe schizophrenia, through reflections of our different inner facets. This aspect is revealed by the opposition between the voices of our two singers.



5- What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Silent Opera' and also are you do you know about the band in Italy that also shares the same name?

Well, this is just an unfortunate coincidence! Each band was born at the same time in 2007 but the music we offer is very different.
To us, the name Silent Opera symbolizes contrasts: the contrast between Laure and Steven's voices but also between violence and melancholia. The term “opera” deserves this paradox but doesn’t show an “operatic” aspect of the music, unlike most symphonic metal bands.

6- What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Each show has good sides but we really enjoyed playing at Secret Place venue on March 2011 or at Hell’Oween festival last October. That was great shows with a wonderful audience!
On stage, we always try to avoid the clichés of symphonic metal bands, by delivering really energetic performances, as death metal bands can do! We also give much more importance to visual aspects (logo, backdrops, video, etc.).

7- Do you have any touring or show plans for the new release?

Actually, we're working on it! We already have some gigs booked in France and Spain.
We're also in negotiation with promoters / venues in order to prepare a tour on autumn 2014.
Virginie, our French contact & booker is looking for booking agencies to tour in whole Europe.

8- On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic and extreme '?

Melodic fans and extreme fans react differently to our music. Of course, some people won't enjoy our music 'cause they'll think it's too violent and others ‘cause it’s too melodic!
But we finally found our audience because a lot of music lovers want to be surprised and want to find different levels of listening in one record.
Since the release, we receive a lot of positive comments and reviews from all over Europe. And a lot of fans from America, Russia and Japan gave us great feedback about ‘Reflections’! We feel so grateful about it!!!

9- Can you tell us a little bit more about the other musical projects that some of the other band members participated in?

Most of us play in other bands in different metal styles: death, thrash, symphonic, tribute bands.
Romain, Jon and Olivier have just launched a new death metal band called Prophetic Scourge. They also played with Steven in Unscarred, a tribute to Pantera.
Olivier enters in Cliff Williams’ role in TNT: AC/DC Tribute Band.
Steven participates in 2 others bands: Undead Strippers (horror glam) and Can of Worms (thrash metal) and finally, Laura is the composer and keyboards of Opus Doria, a symphonic epic metal band. No time to be bored! ^^

10- What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?

We already started the composition of the future album and all we can say is that we'll keep writing complex songs with different moods and lot of heavy riffs!

11- What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Each member of Silent Opera listens to different kind of music, to different bands. I think our main influences come from Dream Theater, Pain of Salvation, Dimmu Borgir, Meshuggah or The Ocean releases.

12- Do you have any interests outside of music?

No, we only like music… ^^
Of course, we have. We all live in Bask Country (southwest France) which has so amazing landscapes. We all enjoy walking near the ocean, some of us enjoy hiking and others do surfing.
We are interested by any kind of art, literature and nature that may inspire us for our new lyrics and stage creations.

13- Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thank you so much for this interview, we hope we’ll have a great success with ‘Reflections’.
Hope to see you very soon on live! Thanks.

https://www.instagram.com/silentoperaofficial/

Dementia Senex/Heartworm/The Path Less Traveled/2014 EP Review

  Dementia  Senex  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal,  post  hardcore,  sludge  and  doom  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Heartworm"  which  was  released  by  the  Path  Less  Traveled.

  The  ep  starts  out  with  a  very  dark,  melodic  and  heavy  sound  and  after  awhile  growls  and  screams  are  added  into the  music  and  the  recording  take s on  a  post  hardcore/sludge  metal  sound  and  after  awhile  solos  and  leads  are  brought  into  the  ep  along  with  more  technical  death  metal  elements  as  well  as  a  mixture  of  clean  and  heavy  parts.

  As  the  ep  continues  the  band  stick  to t heir  mixture  of  post  hardcore,  sludge  and  doom  metal  which  they  mix  in  with  the  heaviness  of  technical  death  metal  and  on  the  last  track  they  go  into  a  more  progressive  direction  along  with  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  melodic  vocals..

  With  this  ep  Dementia  Senex  bring  in  a  heavier  approach  to  post  and  sludge  metal  with  a  little  bit  more  heaviness  and  they  demonstrate  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  with  the  way  they  play  their  musical  instruments.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Dementia  Senex  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death  metal,  post  hardcore,  sludge  and  doom  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Heartworm".  8  out  of  10.



  

The World State/Flier/2014 EP Review

  The  World  State  are  a  band  from  Denmark  that  plays  a  very  symphonic  and  avant  garde  form  of   metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  ep  "Flier".

  The  ep  starts  out  with  a  very  dark  and  avant  garde  sound  along  with  cellos  and  the  music  also  starts  bringing  in  traces  of  classical  before  adding  in  melodic  female  vocals  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  the  recording  turns  into  a  mixture  of  metal  and  symphonic  music  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  On  the  following  tracks  the  band  continues  with  their  mixture  of  avant  garde,  symphonic  and  metal  music  and  on  the  3rd  tracks  blast  beats,  black,  doom  and  death  metal  influences  are  brought  into   the  music  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  With  this  ep  The  World  State  stick  to  mostly  an  avant  garde  and  symphonic  metal  sound  while  also  having  the  heaviness  of  death  and  doom  metal  at  time s and  the  music  is  very  original  and  has  a  sound  of  its  own.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  while   the production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  ep.

  In  my  opinion  The  World  State  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic,  avant  garde  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Flier"  and  "Leave".  8  out  of  10.

      

Burning Monk/Self Titled/2013 CD Review

  Burning  Monk  are  a  band  from  Oakland,  California that  plays  a  mixture  of  stoner,  doom,  hardcore  and  grind  and  this  is  a  review  of their  self  titled  and  self  released  2013  album.

  The  album  starts  out  with  a  very  fast  hardcore/grind  sound  along  with  aggressive  hardcore  punk  style  shouts  and  yells  and  after  awhile  growls  and  blast  beats  are  added  into  the  music  and  they  stick  to  a  faster  direction  for  the  fast  few  tracks  before  adding  in  doom  metal  and  stoner  rock  elements.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  band  sticks  to  mostly  a  faster  direction  while  also  slowing  down  at  times and  the  music  is  a  lot  more  closer  to  hardcore  punk  than  doom  or  stoner  rock  and  at  times  they  also  bring  melody  into  the  music  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  as  time  goes  on  by  the  doom metal  parts  really  start  becoming  a  huge  part  of  the  recording.

  With  this  album  Burning  Monk  shows  off  2  different  sides  with  their  music  one  minute  they  are  playing  has  hardcore  punk  with  a  grindcore  edge  and  at  other  time s they  play  some  slow  stoner/doom  metal  that  also  has  a  70's  feeling  to  it  and  the  2  styles  make  the  album  sound  very  interesting.

  Song  lyrics  cover  violent,  hateful  and  everyday  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  album.

  In  my  opinion  Burning  Monk  are  a  very  decent  sounding  mixture  of  hardcore  punk,  grind,  stoner  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Fuck  Dump"  "Oblivious"  God  hates  Fred  Phillips"  and  "15  Minutes  Of  Lame".  7/9  out  of  10.

Silent Opera/Reflections/Massacre Records/2014 CD Review

 

   Silent  Opera  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  melodic,  progressive  and  symphonic  form  of  gothic  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Reflections"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  sound  effects  before  adding  in  symphonic  keyboards  which  also  leads  up  to  a  heavier  direction  as  well  as  bringing  in  melodic  guitar  leads  and  violins  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  symphonic  metal  direction  along  with  prog  elements  and  melodic  female  vocals  and  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams.

  When  the  album  goes  into  other  songs  the  band  continue  their  symphonic  and  gothic  approach  to  progressive  metal  while  also  having  some  of  the  heaviness  of  black,  death  and  doom  metal  as well  as  mixture  of  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  at  time s they  also  bring  in  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  and  on  some  of  the  tracks  they  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  after  awhile  they  bring  in  a  couple  of  depressive  sounding  ballads  as  well  as  bringing  in  some  acoustic  guitars  before  making  a  return  to  a  more  heavier  direction.

  With  this  album  Silent  opera  show  a  great  amount  of  diversity  with  their  music  with  the  way  they  mix  symphonic  and  gothic  music  with  progressive  metal  as  well  as  bringing  in  death  and  black  metal  vocals  to  create  an  album  that  is  very  dark  and  melodic  while  also  being  very  heavy  at  times.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark,  depressive  and  poetic  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Silent  Opera  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  symphonic  progressive  metal  band  with  element s of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band  and  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Nightmare  Circus"  "Fight  Or  Drift"  and  "Sailor  Siren  And  bitterness".  8  out  of  10.

Blighter/Self Titled/2011 EP Review

  Blighter  are  a  band  from  Colorado  Springs,  Colorado  that  plays  a  mixture  of  crust,  grind,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  self  titled  and self  released  2011  ep.

  The  ep  starts  out with  am  radio  sounds  before  going  into  a  slow,  dark  and  heavy  doom  metal  sound  and  a  minute  later  deep  death  metal  growls  are  added  into  the  music  which  also  leads  to  the  music  going  into  a  more  fast  crust/grind  direction  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  After  awhile  the  music  returns  back  to  a  slower  sound  while  also  bringing  in  stoner  style  melodies  and  on  the  last  song  the  music  returns  back  to  a  faster  crust/grind  sound  while  also  mixing  in  the  slow  doom  parts  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  brief  guitar  solos  that  would  fit  in  just  fine  on  an  early  Black  Sabbath  record.

  Blighter  take  the  heaviest  and  darkest  elements  of  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  mix  it  in  with  the  speed  and  crust  in  certain  sections  and  it  results  in  a  very  dark,  heavy  and  interesting  sounding  recording.

  Song  lyrics cover  dark  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  ep.

  In  my  opinion  Blighter  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  stoner,  doom  metal,  crust  and  grind  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Wolv".  8  out  of  10.  

Scepter Of Eligos/Self Titled/2013 EP Review

  Scepter  Of  Eligos  are  a  band  from  Denver,  Colorado that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom,  sludge  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  and  self  titled  2013  ep.

  The  ep  starts  out  with  a  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  before  speeding  up  a  bit  and  bringing  in  crust  influenced  death  growls  and  screams  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  bringing  in  a  small  amount  of  d  beats  before  finally  heading  into  a  doom  metal  direction.

  As  the  recording  progresses  the  bass  playing  starts  to  get  a  lot  more  stronger  and  stoner  and  sludge  elements  become  a  part  of  the  music  along  with  some  dark  sounding  melodies  and  after  awhile  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  is  brought  into  the  music  before  returning  to  a  heavier  direction  as  well  as  adding  a  melodic  yet  rough  edge  to  the  vocals  and  not  too  long  after  that  70's  style  guitar  leads  and  psychedelic  sounds  are  brought  into  the  ep  and  the  last  song  goes into  a  more  old  school  death  metal  direction along  with  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  while  also  having  its  moments  of  doom  as  wel  as  bringing  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts.

  With  this  ep  Scepter  Of  Eligos  brign  out  the  heaviest  and  darkest  sounds  of  doom  metal  and  sludge  and  mix  it  in  with  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  along  with  a  small  amount  of  crust  and  thrash  influence  to  create  a  very  interesting  ep  and  every  song  has  a  very  different  sound  to  it.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark,  occult  and  pot  smoking  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  dark  and  heavy  sound  for  being  a  self  released  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  ep.

  In  my  opinion  Scepter  Of  Eligos  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  doom,  sludge  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Spiritual  Fallout"  and  "Prayer  For  Destruction".  8  out  of  10.